COLUMN: To: Trustees, Re: Sansom Commons

As members of the University community (students, faculty and staff) we would like to express our concern over the proposed Sansom Commons project. We believe that there are a multitude of questions that have yet to be asked, let alone adequately answered, regarding this "upscale shopping mall" planned for the heart of campus. At this meeting of the Trustees, you will doubtless be asked to approve expenditures and other resolutions that make Sansom Commons a reality. We ask that you vote to table any such resolutions, and put Sansom Commons "on hold" until the University as a whole can comment on the proposal. Not all of us share the same concerns, but we all feel that more time, and more answers, are needed. We believe it is antithetical to the principals under which this University operates to act on a project of this magnitude without appropriate consultation. Eight months ago, when Sansom Commons was first mentioned by University President Rodin, people asked questions about the nature of the project and its financing. They were told that the plans were not far enough along to say for sure. Suddenly, when most of the faculty and students have gone home for the summer, we are given 12 days notice of the groundbreaking. We've been told none of the details that are necessary for an adequate evaluation and critique of this very expensive proposition, yet we are the people who will have to live with it. The Sansom Commons project is based on an assumption of profitability. We believe this assumption should be very closely questioned, given the University's rather spotty history of retail real estate management and Philadelphia's historical lack of enthusiasm for artificially created upscale retail destinations of this kind (e.g. NewMarket). Sansom Commons is a gamble with money that is supposed to be used to fulfill Penn's mission?and the odds of success do not appear all that solid. We seriously question why Penn is building a hotel that will cost at least 2.5 to three times the purchase price of the Sheraton. The primary source of revenue for the Penn Inn will be Penn itself: schools, departments, and student organizations that bring in guest speakers and others for special programming and projects, Penn parents, and Penn alumni. The Penn Inn will be significantly more expensive than the Sheraton, and any profits generated by the hotel for the University will actually be at the expense of the rest of the University community. The hotel project is an example of cost-shifting -- and it may have a significant impact on the budgets of schools, departments, and student organizations (not to mention the pocketbooks of Penn parents and alumni!) Could the tens of millions of dollars being spent on the hotel be better used in providing student housing that meets the requirements of Penn's academic mission? Many of Center City Philadelphia's retail areas are struggling. We question whether it is appropriate for Penn, as a tax exempt educational institution, to provide competition for one of the essential amenities of urban living -- vital and thriving downtown retail districts, especially if Penn is using its special status to provide itself with an unfair competitive advantage. There is little reason to believe, as Dr. Rodin asserts, that the University City/West Philadelphia communities will benefit from this project, and substantial reasons to assume otherwise. Many local residents (which includes many of us) believe that most problems in the communities are associated with neighborhood instability that results from Penn's policies and attitudes toward its neighbors. Many believe that the project is designed to fill Penn's coffers at the expense of local businesses. We fear that Sansom Commons will be perceived as an act of hostility, and will exacerbate the perception of the University as an avatar of institutionalized classism, elitism and racism. Finally, we believe that a serious dialogue regarding Penn's priorities is in order. There is no evidence that Sansom Commons reflects the priorities of any of the various constituencies of the University community. Students are not asking for an "upscale retail mall," they are asking for things like the renovation of the Hutchinson Gymnasium weight room, appropriate performing arts space and a new recreation center. The faculty is not asking for a "funky" retail district -- they want Penn to provide the support they require to fulfill Penn's academic mission. Employees have little use for expensive restaurants and hotels -- they need a living wage, and an end to cuts in benefits. And we wonder how Penn's alumni will feel about their contributions being used in this fashion. Does Sansom Commons really represent the best use of Penn's financial and real estate resources? Should Penn spend tens of millions of dollars on retail amenities when budgets are being cut? Is an "upscale shopping center" the best use of the last large, undeveloped parcel of land near the heart of campus? These questions need to be considered, and they have not even been asked. These are just a few of the reasons that we are asking you to put the Sansom Commons project "on hold," and decline to take any steps during this Trustees meeting to make this project a reality. We hope you recognize that Sansom Commons is being undertaken without the serious consideration that should be the hallmark of an academic institution of Penn's stature, and take steps to ensure that a project of this scope is carefully and thoughtfully examined before it is built.

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